Airtasker raises $33m for international expansion

Australian task-outsourcing website Airtasker has announced its expansion into the UK, after receiving a massive $33 million cash injection from its major shareholders and new investors.

The company, founded in 2012, has grown to have 1.7 million members nationwide, and the UK launch marks its first foray overseas.

According to Airtasker CEO Tim Fung, the $33 million raised from investors including Seven West Media, is one of the largest capital raisings achieved by an Australian technology firm this year.

“Research indicates UK consumers have similar attitudes to Australians when it comes to trust in community and getting things done,” Mr Fung said.

“London obviously provides massive urban scale that hasn’t seen the same number of potentially unsustainable vertically integrated service companies compared to New York or Shanghai.”

However, while the company launches beyond Australian borders, Mr Fung said it continues to see massive upside in the Australian market.

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“We’re only just scratching the surface of the Australian market and estimate we’re about 0.1 per cent of the way towards our overall market potential.”

“We could absolutely bunker down in Australia but we love a challenge, and there’s no time like the present. So we’ve decided to take the same approach as we did with launching in Australia — take the plunge and then learn how to fly again. But this time we’ll be able to apply the knowledge we’ve spent the last five years building.”